Package and process



Sept. l, A1970 w. N. KILLIAN PACKAGE AND P nocss Filed Nov. 29, 1968balie" United States Patent Office 3,526,315 Patented Sept. 1, 19703,526,315 PACKAGE AND PROCESS William N. Killian, Cincinnati, Ohio,assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware FiledNov. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 779,744 Int. Cl. B65d 5/54, 85/00; B65b 61/00U.S. Cl. 206-46 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREl A relatively rigidtear strip is attached at one end to an article to be packaged in a filmand the other end is turned outward so that upon shrinking or drawing inof the film about the article the upwardly projecting end will penetratethe film, thereby providing an exposed ta'b for the tear strip.

This invention relates to a package and has for an object the provisionof a method of forming a package having a tear strip.

In recent years, packaging procedures have been developed in whicharticles are packaged directly in thin films of transparent plasticmaterials. Certain of the methods involve surrounding the article to bepackaged with the film and then drawing the film snugly or tightlyaround the package either by heat shrinking or by applying a pneumaticpressure differential between the film and the article. The resultingarticles are known to the art as shrink film packages or skin packagesand have an advantage in that they are tamper-proof. The plastic filmsthat have been used in the preparation of packages of this type arepolyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride,polyethylene-terephthalate, polymeric amides and the like. These plasticfilms, however, are tough and are sometimes difiicult to tear open sothat it may be difiicult to remove the article from the package.

Accordingly, it is a further object of this invention to provide atamper-proof package which may be readily opened by the consumer.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a process ofpreparing a package which may be carried out with standard packagingtechniques utilizing readily available materials.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a package andprocess which will be readily acceptable to the industry and which maybe used for packaging a wide variety of articles.

Further and additional objects will appear from the followingdescription in the appended claims.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a shrink filmpackage is prepared having incorporated therein a tear strip including aprojecting tab which will permit the package to be readily opened whendesired. This tear strip underlies the shrink film adjacent the articlein the package and is normally anchored or secured to the article at oneend in such a way that when the exposed tab end at the other end of thetear strip is pulled the skin film will be ruptured to permit thearticle to be readily removed from the package. The tear strip isrelatively rigid in nature, suitable examples being metal wirereinforced paper strips, metal ribbon reinforced fabric strips, metalwire reinforced plastic strips, unreinforced but relatively stiff metalor plastic wires or ribbons and the like.

In the process of preparing the package, the tear strip is affixed oranchored to the article to be packaged at one end and the other end ofthe tear strip is arranged to project outwardly from the surface of thearticle. This other end constitutes a tab for the tear strip and isformed or contoured so that it will readily puncture the plastic shrinkfilm. Thereafter the plastic film is placed around the article and isheat shrunk by conventional techniques. This shrink procedure draws thelm around the article and the tear strip and at the same time theprojecting end or ta'b of the tear strip punctures the film so that thetab is exposed but film fits closely around the base of the tab.Accordingly, a package results in which the article is encased withinthe shrink film but the tab projects through the film so that when thepackage is to be opened the tab may be grasped and pulled, therebytearing the film to permit the article to be removed.

While the invention rfinds particular utility in connection with shrinkfilm packages, it is also useful in the formation of packages in whichthe film is drawn around the article to be packaged and over the piercepoint of the tab of the tear strip 'by pneumatic methods such as by theapplication of a vacuum to that side of the article opposite to whichthe film is positioned. The pneumatic technique is also well know in thepackaging art.

The invention has applicability in the packaging of a large variety ofarticles. For example, auto ignition points, miniature batteries, doorhinges, drawer handles, camera film, writing implements and apples areexamples of articles that can be packaged by this process. In thepackaging of certain articles such as auto ignition points, miniaturebatteries or fruit, which may not provide ready means for anchoring thetear strip at a point remote from the tab, it may be desirable topackage them on a mounting board in which event the strip is anchored tothe board and the board becomes a part of the article to be packaged.The invention is particularly adaptable to the preparation of packagesof this latter type.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package containing a miniature batterysupported on a mounting board and prepared in accordance with oneembodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lthe line 2-2' of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tear strip used in the package shownin FIGS. l and 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a door hinge packaged in accordance withone embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6' of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 illustrates still a further embodiment of this invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 through 4, the package comprises a miniaturebattery 10 supported on a mounting card 12 and encased within apolyethylene shrink film 14. A tear strip `16 is adhesively secured tothe mounting board 12 and underlies the shrink film 14. In `theembodiment shown, the tear strip also underlies the battery 10. The tearstrip 16 is relatively rigid and is provided with a tab end 18 whichprojects through the shrink film 14. When access is desired to thearticle 10, the tab 18 is grasped and pulled away from the card. Becauseof the fact that the tear strip is adhesively secured or otherwiseanchored to the card, the strip will not pull out between the film andthe card but will rather tear the film as it is stripped away from thecard to give access to the article.

lIn the preparation of the package shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tearstrip 16 is adhesively secured to the card 12 except for the tab portion18 which projects away from the surface of the card. Thereafter thebattery or other article 10 is placed on the tear strip and the entireassembly is wrapped with a film of a heat shrinkable polyethylene. Theassembly is then subjected to a conventional heat shrinking processwhereby the film is 3 drawn snugly around the composite articlecomprising the card 12 and the battery 10 and at the same time `the tab18, which is provided with a point 20 or other piercing configuration,punctures the film and the film draws down over the surface of the tableaving the tab exposed.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. and 6, there isprovided a door hinge 22 encased within a heat shrunk plastic film 24. Atear strip 26 overlays one section of the hinge underneath the film. Oneend 28 of the tear strip passes through a screw opening 30 in the hingeand is bent back upon itself so that the tear strip is anchored or heldagainst longitudinal displacement toward the opposite tab end 32. Thetab end 32 projects from the surface of the hinge and the film so thatwhen the tab is grasped and pulled away from the hinge, the film willrupture thereby freeing the hinge from the package. This package isformed in essentially the same manner as described above in connectionwith FIGS. 1 and 2. The tear strip 26 is a metal wire reinforced plasticribbon which is bendable to form the reverse bend 28 but is sufficientlyrigid so that in cooperation the pointed contour of the tab 32 the film24 will be punctured as it is heat shrunk over the surface ofthe hinge.

FIG. 7 shows a box-like article 34 which is entirely encased within aheat shrunk film and provided with a tear strip 36 having a projectingpull tab 38, also assemvbled in accordance with this invention. In thisinstance the tear strip extends partially around the packaged article 34and may be adhered or otherwise secured thereto at an end remote fromthe tab 38 so that the tear strip will be sufhciently anchored to permitthe film lto be ruptured when the tear strip is pulled. However, 'withcertain articles sufcient anchoring may be provided by the several bendsof the .relatively rigid tear strip around the corners of the article34.

Film packaging machines such as the Model MAS-l-ZO slide pack machineavailable from Phillips Films Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, may be used topackage the article after the tear strip is properly positioned relativeto the article. A Model HT-81618 heat shrink tunnel available fromPhillips Films Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, may be used 4to shrink thefilm above the article and tear strip. One film suitable for practicingthis invention is 0.001 thick See-Safe Contour-S polyethylene film forshrink wrap packaging available from Phillips Films Company, Cincinnati,Ohio. Generally, the film will range from about 0.0005 to 0.010 inchthick, but preferably it will be in the range of from about 0.001 to0.003 inch thick. As previously suggested, tear strips suitable for thisapplication include the metal wire reinforced paper strips, metal wirereinforced plastic strips, metal ribbon reinforced strips, andunreinforced but relatively stiff metal or plastic wires or strips Theonly requirement is that the strip is attachable to the article or thebacking and that a short unsupported end section, approximately 1A inchlong, is sufciently rigid and sharp that it punctures the warm shrinkingfilm. In certain cases the rigidity and sharpness are provided by themetal reinforcing wire.

EXAMPLE I A 4 inch X 4 inch corrugated cardboard sheet had a 1A inchwide single steel wire reinforced paper tear strip adhesively 'bonded tothe surface near one edge of the sheet. The strip extended across theface of the sheet to near the o-pposite edge where the end was turnedperpendicularly away from the face of the sheet. An auto ignition pointsassembly was placed on the face of the card and the point assembly andcard were sealed in 0.001 inch thick heat shrinkable polyethylene filmwith a Phillips Films Model BM #3 Bench Model heat sealer. Next, thepackage was passed through a Phillips Films Model HT-8l6l8 heat shrinktunnel.

On shrinking against the end of the wire reinforced paper tear strip,the strip punctured the film and on 4 completion of the shrinking step,the end of the strip projected about 1A inch through the film and thefilm fit snugly against the strip leaving no apparent opening in thepackage. Several days after packaging this article the end of the tearstrip was grasped with the thumb and forefinger and pulled away from theface of the package. The strip tore open the film exposing the pointassembly for easy removal.

EXAMPLE II A large decorative strap-type door hinge approximately 4inches wide and 9 inches long has a wire reinforced plastic strip about1A inch wide and 91/2 inches long attached to one end of the hinge byinserting about 1/2 inch of the end of the strip through one of thescrew holes located about 1/2 inch from the hinge end and then foldingit fiat against the hinge on the other side. The remainder of the stripis laid fiat along the face of the hinge leaving about 1/2 inchprojecting beyond the end of the hinge. The hinge is then heat sealed in0.002 inch thick heat shrinkable polyethylene film by a Phillips FilmsModel MA-1-2.0 packaging machine and then heat shrunk in a PhillipsFilms Model HT-8l6l8 heat shrink tunnel. The strip penetrates the filmas it shrinks against the hinge leaving about M. inch of the stripexposed. In the area of the penetration no apparent space is evidentbetween the hole in the film and the strip. The film is convenientlyremoved from the hinge by grasping the exposed strip and pulling it awayfrom the face of the hinge thus tearing open the film.

While several particular embodiments of this invention are describedabove, it will be apparent that many modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A package including a film of plastic drawn snugly over a packagedarticle and an elongated tear strip affixed to said article andunderlying said film, said tear strip comprising a relatively stiff`longitudinal filament and having one end passing through a puncturedopening in said film whereby to provide an exposed tab for manuallypulling said tear strip away from said article to rupture said film.

2. The package recited in claim 1 in which said film is heat shrunkaround said article.

3. The package recited in claim 1 wherein said tear strip is anchored tosaid article at an end remote from said tab independently of saidoverlying film.

4. The package recited in claim 1 wherein said strip is adhesivelysecured to such article but separable therefrom when the tear strip ispulled to rupture said film.

5. The package recited in claim 4 wherein said strip comprises a wirereinforced ribbon.

6. The package recited in claim 1 wherein the film completely encasesthe article except for the punctured opening embracing said tab.

7. The package recited in claim 1 wherein the article includes amounting element at least partially covered by said film.

8. The package recited in claim 7 wherein the tear strip is adhesivelysecured to the mounting element.

9. The package recited in claim 8 wherein a portion of the tear strip isinterposed between the mounting element and the article packaged.

10. A method of forming a package which comprises afiixing a tear stripto an article to be packaged with one end portion of the tear stripextending away from the surface of said article, said end portion ofsaid strip being sufficiently rigid and formed to provide a filmpuncturing means, covering said article with a plastic film, and drawingsaid film tightly around said article to package same whereby said filmis simultaneously punctured by said end portion to expose a tab for saidtear strip.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said tear strip comprises a metalfilament reinforced plastic tape.

12. The method of claim 10 said tear strip comprises a References CitedWIC I'illfOICed fabric tape. UNITED STATES PATENTS 13. A method offorming a package which comprises axng a relatively rigid tear strip toan article to be pack- 1951343 3/1934 Butt et al' aged with one end ofthe tear strip extending away from 5 llli.

the surface of the article for a short distance, covering said articleWith a heat shrinkable plastic film, and then 3187983 6/1965 MendozIa'heat shrinking said lm around said article to package WILLIAMT'DIXSONJR" Pnmary Exammer same whereby said lm is simultaneouslypunctured by U.S. Cl. X.R.

said end portion thereby exposing a tab for said tear strip. 229-51, 85

